I’ve had a customer tell me this story a couple of times so I want to see if it’s being done by others especially you guys in Mississippi because supposedly this is where it’s happening.
Customer says that his friend in Mississippi that washes windows, polishes the glass with a rag after cleaning the window because that is “the only way” to keep the window from becoming dirty, and because of such he has the most commercial business in the state.
What I think is that my customer misinterpreted the story, and that the guy is actually detailing the windows, which might set him apart from many on the commercial side so I can see that increasing his business, and it would keep the window from becoming dirty (immediately) from seals weeping.
But the customer keeps hinting he wants me to polish his windows after cleaning them, so they will stay clean, and I want to tell him all he will get is swirl marks even with the cleanest of scrim or microfiber if I rub your windows. And theoretically couldn’t you create more static charge by doing that, thus attracting more dust, maybe he is a very smart businessman:D
He’s already your customer? If so, he’s already seen the results of your cleaning and detailing process. If he’s happy, then there is no reason to change or justify what you do – you’re the professional.
If he’s unhappy with the results, start figuring out what went wrong.
If all he is is curious and has too much time on his hands, discuss why your method is superior.
Larry, yes he is just curious, and so since I get to hear about it, I was curious whether there are guys out there doing it. He actually had a head injury, so I hear the story quite often, not so much that he is insisting on it, but because he remembers to tell me the story (again).
He could be washing the whole thing with rags, He says the guy has 27 employees, so it might take that many to rag a commercial route:D
Believe it or not, I found a company that was in Pennsylvania that did it the old fashioned way of using a polishing rag and buffing it out. I wish I remembered there website. They might have even used a type of sackcloth. I forget since it’s been awhile. They never used a squeegee.:eek:
I can’t imagine the amount of tendonitis in these guys shoulders or arms.
Good technique with the squeegee will eliminate the need to buff or polish the glass afterward. And if you know how to properly “cut in” on the windows there really isn’t much need for huck towels. I never use a huck towel to touch up the body of the glass. Maybe touch up the sides and top but again it’s all in the squeegee technique and properly wiping or edging before you squeegee.
I believe the guy is completely ignorant of professional technique. I had a woman insist we “polish” her windows with news paper after we finished with the squeegees. I refused and we never heard from her again. Good riddance to an unappreciative client who obviously couldn’t tell that her windows were already perfect.
I have a competitor around here who charges a premium to clean windows the old-fashioned way. She sprays the solution on the window, steel wools the whole thing, wipes it off, then buffs it with a dry towel. It takes longer and the results are inferior but she caters to the mindset that old-fashioned methods MUST be better than anything new. She caricatures the squeegee method by telling her customers she won’t come in slinging water all over their nice hardwood floors and window treatments. She’s a good salesperson but a bad window cleaner.
The last few years, i’ve had two customers show me this “magic cloth” they bought from some mail order company. Both of these two customers swore by this cloth. they actually told me that I should be some sort of vendor for it. It wasnt a microfiber either. One lady sprayed her mirror down with plain water and wiped it until it was dry. she said “see no streaks! I love this thing!” I pretended like i thought it was really cool and that I would have to look into getting one. When she left the room, I looked it over from the side and it had all of these wipe marks back and forth .
Maybe this guy was was referring to this mail order cloth? All i know is that if I had to do windows with a cloth, rag or whatever, I would find another profession.
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